Music Mosaic

Reflection- Secret Garden

            My music mosaic was created for a song that is very dear to me. I use this song to calm me down, and to help me refocus on the most important things in life. This song, Reflection by Secret Garden, in a true source of peace for me. I didn’t really know why, but through this assignment I’ve truly come to discover why this song is so meaningful to me.

           

            The pictures I chose to take for this assignment are photographs I took that deal with actual reflections. I started out with the goal to find typical reflections that we have in our daily lives that we may or may not recognize. I soon realized, that for me, these things are very calming as well. From the reflections on campus buildings, to the altered perspective in a pool of standing water, I welcome those images in my life. Consequently, I looked for images that naturally calm the viewer, through their focus on orderly, organized subjects.

I enjoy seeing my world through different eyes, and reflections are a daily way to see the world I know in new light. The reading that we did this week focuses on the blessings that come from seeking to view the world in new ways. Annie Dillard said that it’s impossible to stop the raging river of images we receive every day, but if we allow them to rage, and look beyond them through nature’s lenses, we can see beautiful things. As I took my pictures, I tried to look past the obvious, and go out of my way to find a shot that maybe no one had noticed before.

I included pictures of a phone screen and a WiiU screen because many people find those devices their “reflection of choice”. Instagram is popular because people are able to see their lives through “filters” or alterations to photographs. While for some people this doesn’t come off as genuine, there is satisfaction in being able to communicate your personal experiences in a more complex visual experience.

While this collection of pictures isn’t comprehensive of my life, I feel like everyone can connect with at least one of these images. Reflections complement our lives, just like the music piece. The violin and piano consistently repeat groups of notes, alternating whether the notes go up at the end or down. If you were to put the phrases of notes on top of each other, you would literally see the reflection in the notes position on the page. I love that this music puts a visual phenomenon into music, illustrating the feelings that I feel about reflections into audio expression.

The final point about the mosaic is the fact that the last picture, the mirror pic, is the biggest one. This is, to me the most important reflection. Just as the song Reflection helps me think about my life and appreciate the beauty of the world, our personal reflection should be a source of gratitude and happiness.

Word Count: 504